Do not. 5. Tennessee exited the College Football Playoff after a shocking 63-38 loss against South Carolina. The Gamecocks scored nine times in 10 full games against the Volunteers for the biggest win in the game’s history, beating South Carolina’s 24-0 victory in 1903.
The Gamecocks struggled in last week’s 38-6 loss to Florida State, without leading running back Marshawn Lloyd. However, South Carolina beat the Volunteers 21-7 in the first quarter to set the tone early. Quarterback Spencer Rattler caught touchdown passes of 60, 19 and 11 yards and stunned a shaky Tennessee pass defense.
Rattler has been inconsistent in his first season at South Carolina, throwing eight touchdowns and nine interceptions, but he’s shown atrocious talent that has made him the most-rated quarterback of the past five years one. The Oklahoma transfer threw for 438 yards and a record six touchdowns to tear down the Vols’ defense. Wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr. led the way with 11 receptions for 177 yards, while Jaheim Bell and Josh Vann each had two touchdowns.
Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker fought, but the Vols struggled to keep up with the Gamecocks scoring barrage. The Volunteers won 24-14 in the middle two quarters, but South Carolina returned to the end zone after nine 65-yard drives to take a 42-31 lead.Hooker throws for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns, but goes down after Gamecocks score Significantly badly injured left knee. With Hooker out, South Carolina finished with a 21-0 score and a huge success.
Backup quarterback Joe Milton III came on and threw for 108 yards and a touchdown, but Rattler had two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. Milton tossed Cedric Tillman for a touchdown with 1:14 left.
The loss put Tennessee officially out of the College Football Playoff with just one game left against Vanderbilt. Vols are just looking out for number 1. No. 5 in the CFP rankings, they could jump into the top four after a big battle with No. 1 next week. 2 Ohio State and 3 Michigan State. However, two losses and an inability to pick up key stat points in the division title game made that path almost impossible. Tennessee head coach Josh Heppel said Hooker will undergo further evaluation when the team returns to Knoxville.
The South Carolina win gave Shane Beamer his second straight season win as the Gamecocks went 7-4 in the campaign. The program has only achieved the feat once since Steve Spurrier retired in 2015.